AUTHORITIES arrested two Chinese nationals for allegedly trying to bribe police officers in exchange for the release of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) workers who were arrested in an alleged prostitution den in Makati City, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) said on Wednesday.
NCRPO Director Guillermo Eleazar said Zhang Xiuquang and Fan Jianping were arrested after they approached and tried to negotiate with Major Gideon Ines Jr., the head of Station Investigation and Detective Management (SIDM) of the Makati City Police, for the release of their countrymen.
He said the two offered Ines P1.7 million in exchange for not filing charges against their colleagues.
“This serves as an opportunity to protect the good name of the organization by eliminating suspicions and speculations and these are the kind of policemen that we need to show our people that they can be trusted and that not all policemen are corrupt,” Eleazar said.
Eleazar recognized the indispensable aid of Chinese law enforcers in the fight against the proliferation of human trafficking cases involving their citizens.
"We need the cooperation of our Chinese counterpart. Kasi sila ang nakakaalam ng mga sindikato na yan and their operations. Sa'tin limited ang magagawa natin dito sa ating territory" said Eleazar.
On Monday, police operatives arrested 36 Chinese looking women, 18 Chinese men and 10 Filipino female employees in an entrapment operation in MAXX Hotel located along Makati Avenue corner Singian Street in Barangay Poblacion, Makati City.
The hotel was reportedly being rented and run by a Chinese man who pays the Filipino owner of the hotel P1.2 million per month.
Police said the operators of the hotel and the arrested Chinese women were engaged in prostitution activities, with Chinese men working in POGOs as customers.
He said the services of Chinese women can be booked through a Chinese social media application for around P20,000 to P30,000.
The innovations introduced by technology in crime perpetration remains a continuing challenge for NCRPO but Eleazar assured that they will not cease to fight all forms of criminality and illegal drugs.
This is the fourth time that authorities raided a sex den in Metro Manila in two months. All were operated by Chinese nationals.
On September 30, operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) rescued some 91 Chinese women and four Filipino women inside a KTV bar also in Makati City.
In Parañaque City last September 19, operatives of NCRPO rescued 51 female Chinese and seven Filipina witnesses and arrested 13 Chinese who allegedly operating a prostitution den.
Last September 4, NCRPO operatives rescued six Vietnamese women and arrested two Chinese women suspected to be trafficking women. (SunStar Philippines)